Have you noticed the extent to which the "party-line" dominates politics? Both camps privately tee-hee over mostly over-simplifications and half-truths that make their believer's feel good down in their their tummies. Great for parties, these zingers can hit a member of the opposite side right-between-the-eyes at thirty-paces. Un-proven or investigated, these gems easily find their way to mainstream television both in comedy and news programs where they take on a different, more sinister, effect of beginning the brain-washing process.
Phrases such as "Tax and Spend," "The President is an Idiot," and "Family values?" Sure these statements are fun to hear but do they really get us anywhere except gridlock, huddled in our respective corners, looking over our shoulders, anticipating our next move.
Now for the lastest round of thoughtless duck and cover:
Republicans are masters of this technique: Find a sound-bite and use it over and over and over again. Never veer from the message regardless of what information might be uncovered by news media. "A few bad apples" is the explanation for the abuses in Iraqi prisons even though the International Red Cross has been complaining of abuses for a year. "A few bad apples" even though military police in the prisons themselves say their job was to soften-up the prisoners for interrogation. "A few bad apples" even though the Bush Administration has, from the beginning of the conflict, blantantly classified these prisoners as not deserving the same rights as prisoners of war. If it really is "just of few bad apples" lets wait for that to be apparent in the investigations underway. With the evidence above hanging over this situation I wouldn't say much more than "This is very serious, there are a lot of areas that need to be investigated."
I don't remember the first-time I was a knee-jerk. I was probably talking about Reagan or Bush Senior and I polarized myself by not thinking. I didn't want to admit that anyone who called themselves a Republican could have a good idea, or even more impossible, a Democrat could have a bad one. So I encourage everyone to think before, or at least after they let loose with the latest round of easy attacks or defenses. How relevant are they? Do they make any sense? Who's telling me whether or not they are true?
Let me state some opinions that I've come to believe for example's sake: President Reagan is probably a very nice man; President Bush did a masterful job of keeping the world coalition together during Desert Storm; Removing pork from the budget is a good policy for everyone. (These are just a few examples--I'll try to add more in the future) If thought processes such as these were undertaken by both sides instead of constant vitriol, we might actually get somewhere that's good for the country.